One: The Origin
by Spicyworks
Summary: Midoriya Izuku suffered in the hands of villains - and was forced to be one for the safety of his friends. Deku was a quirkless boy. The successor of All Might. A student of UA. Midoriya Izuku absolutely despises Deku, who was once a part of himself. (OR The fic where Izuku has a cloning quirk and the quirkless young boy we grew to love is merely a clone. Xposted on AO3.)
1. Zero

There is what we call " _The Calm Before The Storm_ ".

The worst things happen when we least expect it. Or that's not how it is and we're thinking about it in the wrong angle. Maybe it is the fact that we didn't expect it to happen that makes it worse than it already is. We feel sorrow and regret because of not being able to foresee things falling apart. We feel sorrow and regret because we were unable to do more back when everything was okay.

In this calm, all our guards are down.

That's usually the time when we lose something.

* * *

 _"A child has gone missing today in_ Musutafu _. Nine-year-old Yukimura Miyu was last seen on the gates of her school, Hakara Elementary. Her parents claimed to have dropped her off to school to ensure her safety. According to teachers and classmates, she didn't attend any of her classes. The police are currently conducting a search operation to locate the missing child."_

The noise carried on as the broadcaster continued to deliver the news for the day. Midoriya Inko was too busy to pay any attention to what was being said, her eyes and ears were occupied by the task she has at hand. The television's sound fades into the background, blending in with the noise of ceramic to ceramic and the chirping of birds. It was a better company than silence, she thinks. She hums as she prepares the table, setting down the plates on the surface of the wooden table. One of the plates was made of plastic, so as to not break easily. It had yellow edges, but was mostly blue. A superhero character was in the very center of it, one hand raised.

"Izuku!" she calls. "Food's ready!"

Her voice triggers muffled shuffling noises behind a door a few walks away. The door opens and a boy as tall as her legs emerges from it. He was clothed in a blue, red, and yellow onesie similar to that of the character on the plate, one of his hands raised as he shouts 'I am here' enthusiastically. He skips his way towards the dinner table and hops when he's near it. The action caused his curly dark green hair to bounce and his hoodie to fall from his head. His expression was that of a smile that reached up to his ears. There is excitement written all over his chubby-cheeked face as he chants "katsudon" with his small high-pitched voice.

Inko couldn't help it as her lips curved upwards and her eyes softened at the sight. Warmth fills her chest as she carries the boy to let him sit on his chair. He's still too small to sit on his own.

She cooked his favorite tonight - a hot bowl of Katsudon. He had always been excited about whatever food that she prepared. Izuku always claimed that his mom's cooking is the best. But his reactions to Katsudon were much more energetic than the usual. He normally only runs up towards the dinner table and gawks at the sight of what's cooked - but on katsudon nights, he jumps and cheers. Even if he hadn't told her outright, it was easy to figure out what food he loved the most.

Izuku eats his food with a lot of energy. He takes huge bites every time. Inko has to remind him to slow down or he will choke, which the four-year-old obliges. The mother watched as her son chews on his katsudon, wiping his food-stained cheeks with a smile.

"All Might saved the day once again…"

His ears perked up - Inko notices. Izuku immediately turns his head towards the television, his cheeks still moving as he chews. It was clear that his eyes were widening in anticipation for the news.

Izuku is a huge All Might fan. This is evidenced by the All Might themed hoodie he is currently sporting and the All Might themed nameplate hanging by his door, not to mention the All Might plastic plate he is using at the moment. The image of the blue, red, and yellow hero always makes Izuku grin. The boy's admiration for All Might had even made him declare his own desire to be a hero, always rambling about the day his quirk activates.

The young boy already has a bunch of theories on what his quirk might be.

The ability to pull things towards his direction, like Inko? Likely.

The ability to breathe fire like his father? Maybe.

The ability to make things hot with just a touch, like his paternal grandfather? Could be that one too.

The ability to make copies of oneself like his maternal grandmother? Can't exclude that one possibility.

As long as he's happy with himself and he isn't hurt, Inko doesn't have problems.

She's also excited about the day his quirk makes itself known to the world. He's four now - it might happen anytime soon. She knows he'll get something amazing; it's what he deserves.

In the Midoriya household, a mother grins at her over-excited son, wishing the best for him and his dreams.

In another, a mother grieves at the loss of her daughter the world ripped away from her.

* * *

There were loud sobbing noises in the police station as the middle-aged lady cries. A man, presumably her husband, tries to soothe her by rubbing circles on her back. It was distressing, and the round-eyed detective feels like he couldn't ever get used to the sight of that. Despite this, he continues to walk with his chest puffed out, not letting the concern show in his figure.

He needs to show confidence - an aura of 'we'll find a way'. He needs to show strength, especially when there are people around who feel like there's no hope. He continues this facade as he finds the door he was looking for, opens it, and greets the first man he sees inside.

"Oh, Kurahashi!" The round-eyed detective greets.

Kurahashi, a slim man in his forties, raises his head from his palms, revealing dark circles underneath his tired eyes. His skin was pale, and his movements sluggish. He blinks at the round-eyed policeman and is silent for a few seconds before he responds.

"Naomasa. You're way too energetic."

Naomasa, the round-eyed detective, smiles before schooling his expression into a concerned one. He speaks as he removes his coat to place it on the coat rack. "I heard there's another missing child case?"

"The third one this month alone. Runaway kids seemingly disappearing to God-knows-where and toddlers getting kidnapped on the way to school - no ransom."

Naomasa couldn't help the look of sadness that crosses his face for a millisecond. Today's missing child case had been a nine-year-old. From what he's heard, the two missing child cases that happened earlier in the month were that of a fourteen-year-old and a five-year-old. He wonders about the feelings of the children - helpless and lost and scared. No one deserves to experience that, especially when they're so young.

"It's underground stuff. Monkey business. Child trafficking. There's no other explanation for it."

Kurahashi talking breaks Naomasa from his thoughts.

"Crime rates have slowed down the past few years, largely thanks to Mr. Symbol of Peace. But recently there seems to have been a slight increase in missing people cases. Not just children, but adults as well." Kurahashi pauses as he rests his face into his palms again. "Because we're so slow at figuring out their locations and who's behind all this mess, God knows what all these people are experiencing right now. I don't even want to imagine. Especially the children. Fuck."

The other detective remains quiet. He's not the best at comforting his co-workers with words. He knows that words of empathy are not what Kurahashi needs right now. Naomasa knows exactly what it feels to blame yourself when bad things happen. He knows what it's like to be aware of your incompetence as a detective. He also knows what it feels like when people say 'I know how it feels' to comfort you.

Naomasa knows that right now, what Kurahashi needs is a lead. What he needs is progress.

"We'll figure it out," Naomasa says, catching the attention of the other detective. "We will find those people..."

His breath hitches.

"We will save them."

* * *

 _I want to be like All Might. I want to save people._

Izuku stares at the picture he's drawn for art class, satisfaction all over his face.

The class had been assigned to draw their dreams in a sheet of paper - what they'll be like twenty years from now. For his paper, Izuku drew himself as a superhero wearing the exact same red, blue, and yellow costume as the symbol of peace. He had a huge smile in the illustration, with people on his arms having very relieved expressions. There's also his mom beside him in the drawing, smiling and proud. For an adult eye, it's probably not too easy to discern the fact that the woman was his mom - aside from the fact that she was drawn with green hair. He blames it on his lack of art skills.

Izuku just can't imagine a life without her.

Everyone in school hadn't been exactly nice to Izuku, noting him being a crybaby as a reason to write him off as 'annoying'. However, his mom had never admonished him for his tears. Instead, she listens.

Not only that, but she also makes the best food. Especially her katsudon, which she makes whenever he's down.

She also plays with him. The other kids tend to leave him out of games and ignore him. He loves her for that.

Whenever he's sad, she always wraps him in his favorite All Might blanket and hugs him really tight. It's cozy when she hugs him, and sometimes he falls asleep.

His mom is the best at everything, he concludes with a smile. He needs to give her something for her birthday soon. What gift would be nice to give her? A necklace? A hair tie? Or maybe he should give her a birthday card?

Izuku keeps his art class masterpiece for a while - he'll show that to his mom later.

The parents of his classmates are already here to pick them up. He sits on the waiting area, kicking his foot as he patiently waits for his mom. Sometimes she's late by a few minutes, but it's okay. She's a solo parent and she has to do a lot of things in order to keep the both of them to live a comfortable life. Izuku is grateful for that. Waiting for a few minutes doesn't hurt.

He waits for a few minutes.

Only a few students remain waiting with him.

He waits for a few minutes.

Ah. He's alone.

"Izuku!" He hears a voice. "Your mom's not here yet?"

He turns his head towards his left to see a young lady walking towards him. It was one of their teachers in the kindergarten. Izuku smiles at her to be polite.

"She's not here yet," he responds shyly, looking down at his feet as he continues to swing them back and forth.

On the corner of his eyes, he can see her removing the white gloves on her hands. She wears it a lot. He assumed it's because of her quirk - not that he has any idea what that is. He thinks her hands are pretty - they're dainty, and she wears pastel pink nails. He thinks it's a shame to hide such pretty hands because of a quirk.

His kindergarten teacher speaks again.

"It's dangerous when you're alone here. I heard there are a lot of kids going missing lately."

Izuku flinches. He forgot about that. He's noticed a lot of missing children posters around the city recently. And he can hear the whispers of the parents whenever they come to fetch their kids.

"How about let's go inside the school, hm? I'll call you when your mom's here."

Izuku thinks that seems reasonable. He hops off the seat he occupied in the waiting area and wraps his small hands on the strap of his All Might backpack. He looks up to his teacher and nods. "Okay!"

His teacher smiles, her gloveless hands reach for his shoulder. probably to guide him along the way. Izuku notices how only one of his fingers was outstretched - as if pointing at him.

 **No.**

He feels her cold skin on the back of his neck.

And then there was black .


	2. Too kind?

Do you sometimes wonder what you'd be like if you lived a completely different life?

What if you didn't study in this one school, and instead studied in another one?  
What if instead of drowning yourselves in hordes of schoolwork in order to match the expectations of society, you pursue what you actually want to pursue and went to live a more carefree youth?  
Or what if you do the opposite, and instead you wonder what you'd be like if you actually did spend more time in academics than you did before?  
What if took up a completely different course in college?

In the end, would you still be the same person you are right now?

* * *

Inko had the tendency to help others when she feels like they needed it. People have commented on the fact that she's 'too nice' to everyone, but she doesn't see it as a flaw. It's just that seeing people struggle isn't a sight she likes to behold - she'd rather help the person than let whatever the problem they are facing go on when it's so easy to find a solution for it.

That's also the reason she sometimes worked overtime. As a nurse, she had a schedule to follow. However, sometimes there would be emergencies and their hospital would be understaffed - they had no choice but to keep working even if their shift is over.

Inko absolutely loved her job, but sometimes she feels guilty for not being there when Izuku gets out of his kindergarten classes. Sometimes she'd contact one of her siblings to fetch him and look after him while she works - there are times they'd complain about the schedule of their own personal lives getting disrupted, but as long she knows Izuku is in good hands, she's fine.

Today isn't one of those days she has to work overtime, fortunately. Crime rates had a significant dip since the rise of All Might - there are fewer crimes, meaning fewer victims, meaning fewer patients to look after.

Today, maybe she can fetch her own son in time.

Walking in the streets of Musutafu is nice. This is the place she grew up in so there would be times she'd remember how different the city looked years before. The city park used to just be an empty lot filled with greenery, a vending machine and a bench by the sidewalk. She vaguely remembers seeing high school kids hanging around those areas when she was young.

She likes the fact that it's a park now - it's a good place for her son to have fun. She doesn't want to keep him cooped up inside the house. Inko is aware that Izuku needs the freedom to have a very fulfilling childhood. As a parent, she shouldn't limit her child. She was there to guide him and protect him, not to put him in a metaphorical prison.

Halted in her tracks, she sees a man looking at a device on his hands, scratching his head. He had a medical mask that obscured his facial features. One of his thick eyebrows were raised as his hooded eyes focused on the contents of the contraption in his hand.

Inko is very familiar with that kind of body language, and so she walks up to him.

"Sir?" She asks to grab the man's attention. The stranger quickly turns his head towards her. Now that he's looking, she speaks up again. "Are you lost?"

He laughs awkwardly, putting his scratching hand down. "Yeah. I'm new to this city so I'm still unfamiliar with the places."

The masked man uses his handheld device once again, albeit with more urgency than he previously had. Inko was able to get a closer look at the gadget - a smartphone, and he's currently fiddling with an application that is displaying a map of the city. The man turns the screen towards her direction and spoke. "Do you know where Musutafu General Hospital is?"

Having come from the said place, an upwards curve made its way into Inko's lips. "You just have to…"

She never gets to finish her sentence.

It was as if she just blinked her eyes, and when she opened them, she was in a completely different location - this was the street near the station, filled with little shops that offered mostly food. This is the complete opposite direction of where she was headed to. The man in the medical mask was nowhere in sight. There were a lot of people, contrary to the almost-empty street she last remembered she was in.

Why was she here?

She immediately reaches out for the handheld phone inside her bag. She finds it right away and opens the screen to see the time.

It's been two and a half hours since she left work. It's been two hours since Izuku's class was dismissed.

 _She's two hours late._

Inko feels her body shiver at the realization as if she had been doused in ice cold water.

She runs.

She doesn't miss the missing child poster that was posted on one of the walls she passed.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** It's been years since I last uploaded stories here. I'm so not used to this layout anymore hdjhdj. I kinda effed up the format in the first chapter... I think. Apparently this site doesn't support double spaces?


	3. Lost and Found?

There are a lot of things going on in this world at once.

You're here, reading a story. But someone somewhere weeps over someone else's death. Someone somewhere is getting married to the most important person in their life. Someone somewhere is trying to build up the courage to tell their parents that they like the same sex.

For you, this may just be another day. But for someone else, this is the day they could never forget. The day that will make or break their future.

* * *

When Izuku opened his eyes, he was feeling groggy. His surroundings were a blur, his whole body ached, and his throat was parched. His mouth was warm and he feels as if his breath was going bad - the sensation he usually feels when he wakes up in the morning and he hasn't brushed his teeth yet. Needless to say, he felt unpleasant.

He blinks, trying to adjust his blurred sight. He tries to move his hands but finds himself unable to. Something was restricting his movement. He doesn't know what that is yet. All he can make out is the outline of boxes - a lot of them. They were vibrating - in fact, Izuku can feel as if the whole place is.

"The kid's awake," says a gruff unfamiliar voice. It came from the left. Izuku turns his head towards that direction and blinks at the man directly sitting beside him on the floor. He was wearing a medical mask, but his eyebrows were thick and very expressive. They were furrowed as if disapproving the situation they are currently in.

The masked man raises one of his hands.

There was this heavy feeling on the pit of Izuku's stomach, as if something terrible will happen in the next few seconds that he can't evade. It was a horrible combination of dread and helplessness. He tries to struggle in his seat, but apparently, he was wearing constraints not only on his wrists, but also on his ankles.

The man rests his hand on his hair and ruffles it as gently as he could.

"You have a pretty mom," the unfamiliar voice speaks again. His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes were almost closed because of the way his cheeks were pulled up by his expression, as if his eyes were smiling at him. Somehow, even if the expression was supposed to display something positive, Izuku saw sadness.

A second wave of confusion hits the young boy. Panic mixes with it.

What was going on? Who is this man ruffling his hair? Why did he know his mom? Why was he tied up? Why are they in the back of a truck? What are they going to do to him? Izuku's mind was swimming with questions.

"You're going to be okay." The man says again, but softly, trying to reassure the boy. Izuku almost believes him.

"Put him to sleep with your quirk, damn it." A shrill voice shouts, catching the both of them off-guard.

The man's reassuring expression turns into a scowl. He pulls back his hand that had been playing with Izuku's bird's nest of a hair. The young boy can see the exact moment the man's body tenses up, his form becoming stiff after he heard the annoying voice.

"I already told you, my quirk doesn't work if he can't talk," the masked man says, annoyance in his voice. The way he said it was loud and clear, but his whole body was shaking after he spoke, as if it took so much energy to talk back.

"Men really can't do shit," the shrill voice speaks up again, this time it was more complaining than the reprimanding tone it had earlier. Izuku could hear the sound of movement. Someone was walking towards them - he can hear the sound of shoes hitting the floor and can feel the stronger vibrations that matched its sound.

The person with the shrill voice appears. Her clothing is exactly like that of the kindergarten teachers in his school - a yellow apron over a white shirt and gray pants. But when he reached her face, he found someone unfamiliar. It wasn't the face of the teacher he last saw (the one who put him to sleep, he remembers). Her violet eyes were narrowed at him, intimidating the young boy. Her lips formed a frown.

She crouches down to Izuku's level and shows him her hands, dainty with nails colored pastel pink. Her index finger pointed towards him, inching nearer and nearer.

Izuku squirms. This hadn't gone well last time.

But there's not much you can do if you're a four-year-old kid with currently restrained wrists and ankles, two of your adult captors present. Izuku still tries despite that. He tries to activate a quirk, if his struggle won't work. His quirk hasn't come yet, but maybe lady luck will help him and grant him one when he needed it best, right? He doesn't think the world is that cruel.

A teleportation quirk would be really useful at the moment, he thinks.

And that's the last thought that enters his mind before he's unconscious once again.

"Quit trying to give the kid false hope," the woman says, turning to the masked man who was seated beside the little boy. "You know full well what's gonna happen to him. You know he's not gonna be okay." Her brows furrow at him.

The masked man continues to play with the little boy's curly green locks, making sure the boy doesn't get a stiff neck by making him rest on his lap. He doesn't answer. He just looks at the little boy, sadness in his eyes.

The woman decides she's had enough of that, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Do your job properly, dipshit. Your life's on the line here."

The man continues to look away from the woman, whispering his response. "I never said I wanted to continue living."

She pauses for a few seconds, taking the moment to look at his expression, releases him and stands up, dusting her hands with her yellow apron. "Cool. Not like it'd save the boy from the fate you helped in sealing. Whether you live or not, he's still gonna suffer, coward."

She walks away from the two, but before she's entirely out of his sight, she speaks up again.

"Being a school teacher sucks. Can't believe that's the kind of job you wanted."

The truck passes by a police station, with nobody else aware of the commotion that was happening inside of it.

* * *

"I'm sorry I'm so sorry sweetie I'm so…"

Inko cries, a policewoman sitting beside her in the station and trying to calm her by rubbing circles on her back. A search party is currently being conducted by the police, and some of the school staff and the people who lived in the area that surrounded it were put into questioning by a Detective called Kurahashi, who apparently had the ability to look into a person's past.

She had a conversation with the detective immediately after she came to the station, asking for help regarding her missing child. He asks various questions, though Inko's mind was too muddled to remember what questions he asked exactly. She was distraught.

Inko had no idea when the detective used his quirk on her. She's sure he asked for consent to look into the things she did in the past few hours, she just wasn't aware when it happened. Everything on her head was jumbled, and nothing was making sense.

From what Mr. Kurahashi had gathered, she was a victim of a quirk. It was the man wearing the mask whom she tried to help on the way to Izuku's school. His ability was apparently one that controlled the minds of his victims into doing his bidding. Inko's order was apparently to 'stay away from your son's school', and she had started walking in the opposite direction to where she was originally headed to. She had been walking for a span of two hours, which they deduced is the limit to the man's quirk. Her eyes were open while the quirk affected her, so they were able to see that much.

Thanks to that information, they were able to have an idea of what the suspect looked like. It was unfortunate that he was wearing a medical mask, but they were able to discern the fact that he was slim-built, had thick bushy brows, and jet black hair. It wasn't much to go by - a lot of people in the city have jet black hair and bushy brows. But it's better than nothing, he says. Inko doesn't feel so reassured.

It doesn't feel right to currently be sitting in the station, just bawling her eyes out as her sweet little boy is missing. Everyone protested against making her look for him - she tripped as she ran towards his school, causing a strain on her ankle.

If she was being honest, she can't feel the pain. Not when her heart hurts more. Not when her innocent child is missing and probably afraid - Inko doesn't even know if he's still alive. What were they going to do to him? Will they kill him?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door to the interrogation room opening. Detective Kurahashi was first to step out, behind him was one of Izuku's kindergarten teachers, visibly shaken up by the whole situation as she stares at her own feet as she walked.

"Miss Kobayashi was unconscious for nearly the entire school day," he says. "But according to the memories of the teachers, she attended all of her classes today."

One of the seated policemen stood up, eyes widening. "Y-you mean?"

Kurahashi nods, affirming the man's theory. "Someone used their quirk on Miss Kobayashi, making her unconscious, and pretended to be her to capture Mrs. Midoriya's son."

As if on cue, the teacher covers her face with her palms. Her body trembled, and she was taking harsh breaths and muffling the sound of her sobbing. Inko knows this teacher, she's young, about the age of twenty-four, and had only been a teacher for a year. She was sweet and absolutely adored Izuku. This must be heartbreaking for her too.

"Before Miss Kobayashi lost consciousness, she was talking to an old lady on her neighborhood, whose name is still unknown at the moment. We're taking a visit to where she apparently lives," the detective informs everyone.

Kurahashi doesn't say it in order to not make Inko feel worse, but he's not entirely sure if the questioning will bring them any closer to the whereabouts of the young boy.

If he were to base the current situation to the previous cases of missing children, the old woman was most likely dead.

* * *

Izuku opens his eyes once again.

He sits up, rubbing his tired eyes and stretched his arms. He blinks.

He's still inside the truck, except his two captors aren't present, and the vehicle isn't currently moving. The truck's trailer was opened, and the young boy could easily see the night sky from where he is inside.

He has no restraints, he just noticed. He blinks at his small hands, shaking them as if he can't believe that he can finally move them freely.

The little boy doesn't know how long he's been asleep exactly, but it's dark now, so maybe it's been a few hours. He has no idea if his two captors will be there anytime soon, or if the truck's driver is currently resting on the driver's seat. He's clueless about the entire situation he's currently in.

Why would his kidnappers leave him alone inside an open truck trailer?

Izuku blinks again. Is this freedom?

The little boy stands up, but falls immediately. His legs were feeling wobbly and tired. It makes a loud noise, and the child could feel his heart beating unusually quick. Did they hear the noise? Are they coming back for him? He doesn't know.

After a few minutes pass and he doesn't see the masked man and the scary woman, he tries to stand up again, this time succeeding, but with the help of one of the boxes inside the trailer. He walks over to the exit and feels the cold air touch his skin.

He looks down the ground. He's small. It would hurt if he jumps down from this height. For a few minutes, he hesitates.

He gulps down his fear of getting hurt, crouches down, and jumps.

He falls down to the cemented ground, legs first. He feels it as his skin grazes the floor. It hurts, and he'd probably have wounds later. Izuku's doe eyes water at the sensation of pain. He feels a sob escape his lips. He sits up, stares at the place with watery eyes, trying to bravely suppress his tears.

He's used to trying to stifle his own cries, since everyone besides his mom hated it.

Izuku misses his mom.

He misses how she would soothe his tears by kissing his head, or hugging him as she hums. He misses how whenever he's hurt, she'd treat his little boo-boos and give him ice cream to make him feel better. Then, when dinner comes around, she'd cook Katsudon for him.

He wants to go back.

He stands up and runs. He makes sure to stay away from the scary looking building that was near and runs toward to what seems like the entrance. There's nobody in the place.

The little boy runs. He feels his little legs wobble from how tired they are, and falls.

His eyes water again, and he hiccups. He's so bad at suppressing his tears.

"Oh dear!" He hears a voice - a woman's voice. There was a sound of plastic being ruffled, and he sees an outline of a kind-looking lady crouching down to take a good look at him. The lady gasps, putting a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, it's a child!"

Izuku's tired. He slept for a long time inside the truck, but he's still tired. His eyelids felt so heavy. He can't help it when his eyes closed and he felt consciousness drift away from him.

The last thing he heard was the woman's voice. Izuku felt that maybe he's safe now.

"Honey! Call the ambulance! There's an injured little boy!"

* * *

Inko couldn't sleep.

The police escorted her to her home, despite Inko's protests.

The moment she stepped inside her house and caught sight of the All Might nameplate on one of the doors, she breaks down, then and there.

She stayed inside of the police station while the police went to take a visit to Miss Kobayashi's town. She insisted on coming with them, wanting to see the old woman herself, but everyone in the station seemed to agree that it would be much better if she didn't come with them.

They all probably knew the old woman would be dead. When the news broke out that she died in front of her dinner table, her food poisoned, she noted the lack of surprise on the faces of the policemen.

This kidnapping was planned. They were aiming for her son. That much, she knows.

She doesn't know why they'd want to take him specifically- why they went through all the trouble to capture him, but then again, Inko can't understand criminals.

For the past few hours, she had been sitting on the ground beside Izuku's bed, sobbing on his sheets, crying out his name. Some of her family had called her, having received the news already. They tried to calm her down ('The police will find him, don't worry') but none of what they said had made her feel better. They were empty words of consolation and reassurance.

Her phone rings again, and she almost dreaded it. Is it another family member trying to make sure she's okay? Trying to make sure that she's not bawling her eyes out because her son - her sweet little baby boy who never did anything wrong and was full of dreams and a bright future ahead of him - was taken away from her?

It takes her a few seconds to pull herself together - not completely, but good enough to handle a phone call. She wipes her tears and reaches for her phone.

Her eyes widened at the screen, the name of the police detective she met earlier staring at her.

She answers it, her arm shaking as she brings the phone up to her ear. Is it good news? She hopes it's good news.

"Hello, detective?" She spoke.

"Mrs. Midoriya! We just received a report about your son!"

Inko's eyes widened, suddenly alert. "What about Izuku?"

"He's currently resting in a hospital in Nagano. They found him."


End file.
